My 26 New Babies Have Arrived!!

Picked up my 26 new keets this morning from the post office. They were chipper and raising a ruckus! The clerk at the window said everyone working there kept going back to peek in the box. It is the first time any poultry had ever arrived there. Her comment was "I didn't know you could order chicks and things like that through the mail!"

So on arriving home, I did like any good guinea mama would do, dipped their little beaks in water, then in the food. The 2 waterer's were just the base, with a shallow bit of water and rocks. Of course, they all tried to get in the water to drink. I watched for a while and only one seemed to not get the idea, so I showed it the water again. Once they seemed to all be full of water, they headed for the food.

I got an assortment from Ideal Hatchery (Cameron, TX). So I am not sure what colors I will end up with. I do see 6 white, 3 lavender, a couple that may be Royal purple, I think there is a buff and a chocolate in the mix, alond with the pearl greys. It doesn't matter what color they are though. They all seem very healthy and active. I have pictures, but have to load them from my phone to my computer.

With 8 acres of my own, another 2700 acres of woods surrounding me, their nice pen to come home to at nght and no close neighbors, I am sure they will be happy little critters.

I love my guineas...and the chicks, ducks, geese, etc. I will be getting as soon as these are out of the brooder. Don't anyone tell my hubby though, he already calls me the crazy chicken lady!

I wish I could post pictures, I have several. However, I use an Ipad and am clueless as to how to upload pictures to here with it.

I did lose one of my babies last night though, so I am down to 25.

With Ideal Hatchery, I am on their email list and receive a weekly message with their specials. I got my keets at $1.85 each plus shipping (total was $54.00). Ideal has great specials at times (pullets as low $1.25 each).

Awww... so glad all your guinea keets came in safely. Sorry you lost one. That's not fun. : ( I have to say guinea keets are one of - if not the- most adorable little birds you can ever see. It can be difficult to resist purchasing a few when you see them at the feed store. : D

My babies are two weeks old now. I have lost three of them. The rest are growing at an amazing rate and are feathering up nicely. Of course, they eat and eat and eat. I am feeding Purinea Gamebird Starter with the 30% protein. Five white remain, three lavender, a pied, possibly a buff, and the rest appear to be pearl grey.
The coop and pen I hired someone to build last weekend, didn't get finished, and it looks like it is going to take them much longer than anticipated. I guess when they are old enough they will just go into an old covered dog pen for a month, so they will learn where to come to roost and eat.

If you ever get a chance to post pictures, we'd love to see them! Keets are fun, but they do grow up quickly. Sorry about the other two you lost, but it sounds like the remaining babies are thriving. They'll be out on pest control duty in no time!
Good luck on the coop and pen - housing can be a challenge sometimes. We hope to buy a new brooder for our keets that are due to hatch in a few weeks, but we also need to build a bigger chicken coop for our 'teenage' Marans - the one they're in now is getting too crowded. So many projects, so little time....

Finally pictures of the keets! Hope this works. If it does, I have other pictures to post, since they are now free-ranging and on tick patrol.

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Aww....they're so cute!

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Wow, are those the same keets as in the first photo you posted? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised- our three keets that hatched in August are already so big! It does surprise me how quickly they grow, though. : ) It sure is great to be tick free. Ours are wonderful at keeping the flies at bay .